Maybe this is more of an IMHO thing, and I suppose there’s not much of a way to implement behavior, but it is a board-related usage.
I was just about to put in a post that would temporarily take the post in a different direction and almost used that word.
Which we always knew had a different meaning, and words are allowed to have different meanings, so maybe we’ll all just go on happily “hijacking” threads without a second’s thought.
Or will we? For most Americans, and even for a lot of citizens of other countries, the word may be too evocative to use in such an offhand manner, at least for some time.
I’m not saying people should stop using the word in threads if they don’t make the same connection I do, I’m just wondering if there is any agreement. And if we want to dump it, should there be a concerted effort to come up with a new term?
I also understand that at the moment a very high number of people are doing more important things than thinking about this, so if it falls by the wayside I could have reason to be thankful. It was just something that crossed my mind as I posted.
It’s odd at first, but I’m sure “hijacking” is still the only term that will survive.
It’s not a trivial question, though.
When I got to work today I had to face the big bowl of box knives we keep in the storehouse. They suddenly seemed like loaded guns. But that was at the emotional level. We rationally decided that we were more than our emotions, and should recognize that we are not helping anyone by giving in to queasiness.
I think we should just continue to hijack them. Political correctness is for sissies. It may seem a little crass as the moment, but it’s a word and it has its meanings.
Also, pussyfooting around the matter, as I’ve seen some other people do, just draws attention to it. And what’s the point of that?
Well, I generally don’t label my posts as “hijack” posts, but I do sometimes. And when I do it in the future, I will continue to use the term “hijack”. Unless, of course, it offends a lot of people in which case I will respect that. But I don’t see why it should.
Planes get hijacked a lot, just never with such devastating outcomes.